Posts tagged as 'Stussy'

Monday, 2nd May 2011

One of the key stories behind the relationship between Fred Perry and Stussy is the West Coast Punk movement of the late 1970s. In the UK the Sex Pistols were causing pandemonium and bringing the country's music media to its knees, but in the United States home grown punk had to work much harder to receive a mention. California had given the world the surf-pop of The Beach Boys and added blonde vocalist Stevie Nicks to Fleetwood Mac - surely the chaos of punk rock didn't fit with this technicolour world?

Venice Beach, California 2011

As London and New York continued to be described by mainstream media as the playgrounds of punk; California saw the emergence of a new wave of bands pioneering the West Coast scene. In Los Angeles bands such as the Germs, Alley Cats and Weirdos championed the underground, followed by the Southern Californian hardcore punk of the late 70s and early 80s which introduced bands such as Black Flag and Circle Jerks. Whilst the scene later exploded in popularity and spawned more mainstream acts such as NOFX and Green Day, the West Coast punk scene holds its roots firmly in the underground. The Fred Perry Shirt was adopted by the West Coast surf, punk and ska scenes of the late 1970s, who in turn influenced Stussy's grass-roots when the brand was born in California in 1980.